Wisconsin Badgers head coach Paul Chryst is a man of few words. When asked after the game if his team was ready for the ensuing Big Ten schedule, his answer was sharp and to the point: “Ready or not, here it comes.”
After Wisconsin’s 28-0 domination over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, it certainly feels like the team is ready. The Badgers marched the ball 97 yards down the field and scored on their first possession of the game; they wouldn’t look back from there. Here are my takeaways from the game. Check here for my first half recap.
Badgers Defense Shines
The last time the Badgers allowed a touchdown, there were eight minutes and two seconds left in the fourth quarter of the Alabama game. After shutting out Hawaii tonight, the Badgers haven’t allowed an opposing touchdown in 188 consecutive minutes (and two seconds)! That’s quite the impressive streak.
It’s clear that coach Chryst and defensive coordinator Dave Aranda have these guys fired up and executing well. Wisconsin’s line did a solid job at the point of attack, but it was the linebackers and safeties who shown the brightest tonight. Tanner McEvoy led the Badgers with six total tackles (four solo, two assisted), Vince Biegel combined for four tackles (and half a sack) and Joe Schobert had two sacks that lost Hawaii 13 total yards.
Nobody played better, however, than strong safety Michael Caputo. Caputo was seemingly everywhere on the field, tackling receivers in the open field and disrupting passes on third down. He recorded four total tackles (three solo, one assisted), half of a sack and had four pass deflections, and even that stat line doesn’t truly account for what a difference maker he is for this Badger defense. Caputo and Co. should look to build on this momentum next week against Iowa.
Badgers Being Badgers
After finding out earlier this week that starting running back Corey Clement would be out at least 4-6 weeks to recover from sports hernia surgery, tonight marked a huge step forward in trying to make up for the loss. Wisconsin rushed the ball 53(!) times for 343 yards, good for 6.47 YPC.* It’s not always the most entertaining style of football, but this is the identity of Badger football and establishing the run is incredibly necessary for Wisconsin to be successful.
Taiwan Deal ran the ball effectively all game long, totaling the rock 26 times for 148 yards (5.7 YPC) and two touchdowns, all career highs. This was a very promising start for someone who should be the Badgers lead back for the rest of the season. Dare Ogunbowale was equally as effective, carrying the ball 15 times for 85 yards (5.7 YPC) and a touchdown.
At 220 lbs., Deal is a bruising yet patient power back who can move piles by himself. Ogunbowale, a cornerback turned running back, is shiftier and 20 pounds lighter. Their combination of power and speed makes for the ideal backfield duo, which the Badgers will lean on heavily moving forward.
Of course, none of this is possible without great offensive line play. The line play has been questionable up to this point, but they played an excellent game that will hopefully spell the beginning of some nice continuity. I’m already nearing my words limit, so I’ll keep it brief: the running backs constantly had holes to run through and Stave always had time in the pocket. That’s a job well done.
Passing Game: Inconsistent
Even with a substantial amount of time on most plays, Stave looked mediocre tonight. He finished 14-23 (61%) for 164 yards and a touchdown, which is notably down from his average thus far this season of 67.4% completion rate. He threw several balls behind receivers and miss-communicated with Alex Erickson on a potential touchdown.
He was 9-10 for 87 yards when targeting Erickson, and 5-13 for 77 yards when targeting everyone else. His play has been encouraging thus far this season, and it’s certainly improved, but he’ll need to do a better job spreading the offense against Big Ten defenses. I’m still waiting for Stave to do a better job going through his progressions; he usually just throws it to the first guy he looks at. This would take his game up another level.
Other Notes
-Badger kicker Rafael Gaglianone missed his only field goal attempt from 51 yards out.
-True freshman running back Alec Ingold came on for the last offensive series, and though it’s a small sample size and against second-string talent, he looked impressive. He ran the ball seven times for 60 yards and had a nice run called back by a holding penalty. He weights 237 pounds, which is more than some of the Badgers’ linebackers.
-Tanner McEvoy was flagged for targeting after a questionable hit on one of Hawaii’s receivers. The referees convened and decided to wipe away the penalty
-Hawaii had a player ejected for targeting later in the game
-Hawaii receiver Marcus Kemp was injured on a big hit from Caputo and was slow to get up. He was named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list ahead of the season. Hopefully he’s ok.
-Hawaii hurt itself with 11 penalties for 100 yards. The Badgers had 6 for 52 yards.
-Overall, UW out-rushed the Rainbow Warriors, 326 to 15
-The Badgers dominated the time of possession battle: 39:47 to 20:13
That’s all for now. The Badgers Big Ten schedule starts next week against Iowa at 11am sharp. Get loud.
*Not including the eight yards Stave lost on a sack, which for some reason is counted as negative rushing yards on the stat sheet.